Methods of psychodiagnostics in work with the elderly Performed:
5th year student
2 FKP groups
Minina Yu.A.
Psychodiagnostics is a branch of psychology that studies methods for determining the psychological characteristics of a person in order to most fully
Psychodiagnostics is a branch of psychology,studying methods for determining psychological
human characteristics with the aim of the most complete
revealing his inner potential in all
areas of life.
The role of psychodiagnostics in the study of older people
Featureand personality
elderly
human
Study of
degrees
adaptation
and in
elderly
age
Grade
age
changes
And
age
differences.
Role
psychodiagnostics in
research
old people
Revealing
violations
mental
processes
Revealing
relations
elderly
person to
given
period
own life
Difficulties in diagnosing the elderly.
– diagnosis of the elderly,when age changes
health and mental health
approach pathological;
- illiteracy and low
education;
- perception by older people
research as a formal
exam or as a visit to the doctor;
– features of the behavior strategy
older people in a situation
diagnostics.
Older people often have sensory deficits, which entails two problems:
– diagnostic situationrequires a good
ability to see and
hear, therefore
encourage older people
use glasses and
hearing aids,
if necessary.
- very few tests
specially designed
for late people
age who have
visual and hearing impairments. To old people
more needed
time for
adaptation to
interview situations
or testing.
Such an adaptation
necessary for
order to
interviewed
human
felt like
calm and
laid-back.
Poll situation
requires
atmosphere
mutual trust and
cooperation,
so the elderly
Psychodiagnostics of elderly people is most often carried out according to the following methods:
Methodology for diagnosing socio-psychological adaptationK. Rogers and R. Diamond
Self-esteem and anxiety scale (C. Spielberger)
Affiliation Motivation Methodology (A. Mehrabian and M. Sh.
Magomed-Eminov).
Test "Egocentric associations"
Methodology "Tendency to loneliness"
The study of wisdom (P. Baltes and others)
Methodology for diagnosing socio-psychological adaptation by K. Rogers and R. Diamond
Methodology for diagnosing socio-psychological adaptation by K. Rogers andR. Diamond
Methodology
determines the level
formation
socio-psychological
personality adaptation.
In the questionnaire
contained
statements about
man - his
feelings, thoughts,
habits, style
behavior. All these
statements
the subject can
relate to
Self-esteem and anxiety scale (C. Spielberger)
The test is reliable andinformative
level self-assessment
anxiety in this
moment (reactive
anxiety as a condition
and personal anxiety
(as stable
characteristics of a person).
Personal anxiety
characterizes sustainable
tendency to perceive
a wide range of situations
threatening, respond to
such situations
anxiety. Reactive
anxiety
characterized
10. Affiliation Motivation Methodology (A. Mekhrabian and M. Sh. Magomed-Eminov).
Affiliation Motivation Methodology(A. Mehrabian and M. Sh. MagomedEminov).
Intended for
diagnostics of two
generalized
sustainable
motivators
included in
structure
motivation
affiliations,
striving for
acceptance (SP) and
fear of rejection
(CO).
11. Test "Egocentric associations"
The test determines the levelegocentric orientation
the personality of an older person.
Index is determined
egocentrism, which
judge egocentric or
non-egocentric
personality orientation
subject.
The index of egocentrism is determined
by the number of proposals
which have a pronoun
first person singular
numbers, possessive and
proper pronouns,
formed from him ("I", "me",
"mine", "mine", "me", etc.).
12. Methodology "Tendency to loneliness"
under the inclination toloneliness is understood
desire to avoid
communication and being outside
social communities
of people.
The text of the questionnaire is
out of 10 statements.
The more
positive sum
points, the more
expressed a desire to
loneliness. At
negative amount
points such a desire
he is missing.
13. Learning Wisdom (P. Baltes et al)
In order to evaluatebody of knowledge related to
wisdom, P. Baltes
suggested to the elderly
resolve dilemmas.
Reflections
write down
decipher and
evaluated based on
how much they
contained five main
knowledge criteria,
related to wisdom
actual (real)
knowledge, methodological
knowledge, life
contextualism,
value relativism
(relativity
values) and
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transcript
1 Fraternal boarding house for the elderly and disabled Approved by order of 2016 Psychological technique PSYCHOGYMNASTICS for the elderly and disabled 2016
2 Psychogymnastics. Relevance. From the first minutes, the life of every person is woven into the fabric of human relationships. A person cannot live without communication with other people, he will never become a person if there is no other person nearby - a source of attention and support, a partner in play and work, a bearer of knowledge about the world around him and ways to know it. The first form of social contact is a smile. Personal development occurs in two directions: socialization (appropriation of social experience) and individualization (development of independence in decision-making and in organizing one's activities). Violations of the expressiveness of motor skills deserve close attention, because the inability to correctly express one's feelings, stiffness, awkwardness or inadequacy of facial expressions and gestures make communication difficult. No less important is the verbal language of feelings, which denotes the phenomena of emotional life. Psycho-gymnastics is a method in which participants express themselves and communicate without the help of words. Purpose: teaching the elements of technique of expressive movements; the use of expressive movements in the education of emotions and higher feelings; acquisition of skills in self-relaxation; overcoming barriers in communication; removal of psycho-emotional stress and muscle clamps; possibility of self-expression, psychological emancipation of the client, mood correction, self-relaxation training. Expected result: - development of arbitrariness of mental processes. - development of reflection on the ways of one's behavior. - development of the need for active mental activity and creative thinking. - development of abilities of creative self-expression. - development of the ability to cooperate, the foundations of a communicative culture. - removal of emotional stress. - fixing the emotional regulation of behavior. Indications for the use of psycho-gymnastics: - excessive fatigue, exhaustion; - irascibility, isolation; - neuroses; - psychophysical relaxation; - violations of expressive motor skills. Contraindications: - irreversible personality disorders (clients with poor expression themselves do not fully grasp what is being communicated to them in a wordless way by other people, incorrectly assess their attitude towards themselves, which, in turn, may
3 be the reason for the deepening of their asthenic character traits and the appearance of secondary neurotic layers). Principles for applying the methodology: * Preserve the natural mechanisms of the client's development, do everything to prevent any possible distortion and inhibition of them. * Draw up programs for working with clients so that, while maintaining the goal of a particular lesson, it would be possible to vary all the other material, tasks, instructions, time, place of the lesson. * Accompany the independence of the client, trying not to control him, not to oblige him, not to limit his imagination, not to suppress. The specifics of the organization of classes. * Each exercise includes fantasy (thoughts, images), feelings (emotions), movements of the client in the activity so that through the mechanism of their functional unity, he learns to voluntarily influence each of the elements of this triad. * All classes are based on role-playing content. * All items and events must be imaginary. This makes it easier to train the client's inner attention. Etudes and games on the emotions of joy must be in every lesson. The lesson ends with a relaxation exercise with self-regulation training. In psycho-gymnastics, a children's version of psycho-muscular training is used to relieve psycho-emotional stress. Muscles tense and relax in a certain sequence: muscles of the arms, legs, torso, neck, face. When conducting psychomuscular training, especially in the final part, it is necessary to observe a sense of proportion. Almost every sketch is accompanied by music, which can precede it, helping the client enter the desired emotional state, or be a background that enhances emotions, figurative representations, and relieves psycho-emotional stress. 3. The structure of psycho-gymnastics Psycho-gymnastics includes: - exercises for attention; - stress relief exercises; - exercises to reduce emotional distance (to develop cooperation and mutual assistance). The course of psycho-gymnastics consists of 20 lessons, the duration of the whole course is about 3 months, the frequency of meetings is 2 lessons per week, the duration of each lesson is from 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, the duration of the lesson depends on the age, attention characteristics and behavior of the client. Classes are built according to a certain scheme and consist of four phases: 1. Mimic and pantomimic studies. The goal is to express the image of individual emotional states associated with experiences of bodily and mental contentment and discontent. Model
4 expressions of basic emotions and some socially colored feelings. Acquaintance with the elements of expressive movements: facial expressions, gestures, posture, gait. 2. Sketches and games aimed at expressing individual personality traits and emotions. The goal is to model the behavior of characters with certain character traits, to consolidate and expand the information already obtained about social competence, to draw attention to all components of expressive movements at the same time. 3. Etudes and games that have a therapeutic focus on a specific client or on a group as a whole. The goal is the correction of mood, individual character traits, training of simulated standard situations. 4. Phase of psychomuscular training. The goal is to relieve emotional stress, suggest the desired mood and behavior. Between the first and second phases there is a break for several minutes, during which the clients are left to their own devices. Within the hall where psycho-gymnastics takes place, they can do whatever they want. The host does not interfere in their communication. It is necessary to agree on a signal (bell, bell, whistle, etc.) informing about the resumption of the lesson. The signal can be anything, but it must be constant. Between the 3rd and 4th phases, it is proposed to include studies on the development of attention, memory, and outdoor play. Each lesson consists of a series of studies. Etudes should be short, varied, accessible in content (principle from simple to complex). The number of clients in the group is no more than 6. Each etude is repeated several times so that all clients of the group can take part in it. According to M.I. Chistyakova, it makes no sense to form groups only on one basis: fearful, amiable, clients with unstable attention. Care must be taken to ensure that there is no more than one hyperactive, autistic or hysterical client in the group. Clients with irritability, tics, fears, obsessions, stuttering, exhaustion can work together. The group invites 1 2 clients who do not need psycho-gymnastics, but have an artistic streak. They are used to create an emotional background. It is well known that the outward expression of emotions expresses the corresponding imitative reactions, so it is easier to infect other participants with the desired emotion with the help of artistic clients. It is necessary to keep a journal that indicates: the reason for inviting the client to psycho-gymnastics, game planning, the main psychological goals for this group as a whole.
5 REMINDER Indications for the use of psycho-gymnastics: - excessive fatigue, exhaustion; - irascibility, isolation; - neuroses; - psychophysical relaxation; - violations of expressive motor skills. Contraindications: - irreversible personality disorders (clients with poor expression themselves do not fully grasp what they are being told wordlessly by other people, incorrectly assess their attitude towards themselves, which, in turn, may be the reason for the deepening of their asthenic character traits and the appearance of secondary neurotic layers).
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Federal Agency for Education
Volgodonsk Institute of Economics, Management and Law
(branch) FGOU VPO "SFedU"
Faculty of Sociology and Political Science
Department of Sociology and Social Work
Course work
Social problems of the elderly and methods for their diagnosis
Volgodonsk 2011
Introduction
Chapter I. Problems of senior citizens
1 Medical problems in the elderly
2 Social and psychological problems
3 Quality of life of older people as a social problem
Conclusions on the first chapter
Chapter II. Diagnostics of social problems of senior citizens
1 Essence of diagnostics in social work
2 Methods for obtaining information about the problems of older citizens
3 Practical research on the problems of older people
Conclusions on the second chapter
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
The constant increase in the proportion of the elderly around the world is becoming a serious socio-demographic trend in most developed countries. Health problems, psychological and social disorder, the deteriorating quality of life of older people - this is an incomplete list of areas of social assistance to older people. All this determines the relevance of this course work.
The object of the research is the problems of the elderly.
The subject is the diagnosis of social problems of older people by social services, in particular by a social work specialist.
The aim of the work is to identify the social problems of the elderly, as well as to analyze the methods of their diagnosis.
Achieving this goal involves solving the following tasks:
- study of literature on the topic;
- identification of the main social problems of older people;
- analysis of the essence and methods of diagnosing social problems of the elderly;
- carrying out practical diagnostics of social problems of the elderly.
Research problem: selection of optimal methods and forms of social work to overcome the social problems of the elderly.
The theoretical and methodological basis of research is the work of domestic scientists on this issue. The empirical base of the study was made up of periodicals and textbooks.
Chapter I. Problems of senior citizens
1.1 Medical problems in the elderly
One of the trends observed in recent decades in the developed world is the growth in the absolute number and relative proportion of the population of older people. There is a steady, fairly rapid process of reducing the proportion of children and young people in the total population and increasing the proportion of the elderly.
Thus, according to the UN, in 1950 there were approximately 200 million people aged 60 and over in the world, by 1975 their number had increased to 550 million. According to forecasts, by 2025 the number of people over 60 will reach 1 billion 100 million people. Compared with 1950, their number will increase 5 times, while the population of the planet will increase only 3 times
In accordance with the WHO classification, the elderly are people aged 60 to 74 years, the old - aged 75-89 years, the long-livers - people aged 90 years and older.
In accordance with the documents of the UN and the International Labor Organization (ILO), persons aged 60 and over are considered elderly. It is these data that, as a rule, are guided in practice, although the retirement age in most developed countries is 65 years (in Russia it is 60 and 55 years, respectively, for men and women).
The elderly include different people - from relatively healthy and strong to deep old people, burdened with ailments, people from various social strata, having different levels of education, qualifications and different interests. Most of them do not work, receiving an old-age pension.
The aging process is closely related to the constant increase in the number of patients suffering from various diseases, including those inherent only in the elderly and senile age. There is a constant increase in the number of old people, seriously ill, in need of long-term medication, care and care.
A high indicator of the need for older people in medical and social support, according to A.I. Egorov, is a completely natural phenomenon. In the process of aging, the adaptive capabilities of the body decrease, vulnerabilities are created in the system of its self-regulation, mechanisms are formed that provoke and reveal age-related pathology. As life expectancy increases, the incidence increases. Diseases become chronic with an atypical course, frequent exacerbations of the pathological process and a long recovery period.
The general health and physical well-being of older people varies with age. In parallel with age, the percentage of people with impaired health, as well as bedridden people, is increasing. And yet, according to Polish gerontologists, 66% of people over 80 maintain their health to such an extent that they can do without outside help in everyday life. Interestingly, men predominate among perfectly healthy people. This is due to the fact that men live less than women, i.e. the healthiest people live to a ripe old age.
The causes of health disorders and subsequent helplessness in old age are not always only diseases typical of old age. An important role is played by diseases acquired in the middle and even young years, insufficiently actively treated, which have become chronic. Usually, such diseases progress slowly and quite late become the cause of a serious deterioration in the health of an old person. Other illnesses can begin in the elderly and senile age and proceed severely, leading a person to disability. In this regard, the attention of ancient gerontologists to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the prevention of aging from a young age becomes understandable. Old age can be saved from suffering and grief, provided that a person enters this period of life in the best possible state of health, preserves and continues the hygiene skills acquired at a young age.
Typical ailments of old age are diseases caused by changes in organs in connection with the aging process itself and associated degenerative processes.
Senile infirmity is a condition when a person, as a result of a long-term chronic illness, becomes unable to perform daily functions that are necessary for a normal independent life. This condition is also called "senile vital failure". This condition already requires constant care and assistance; a frail old person cannot live alone, he must either be surrounded by his loved ones, ready to take care of him, despite all the difficulties, or move to a nursing home. Senile infirmity may be due to a mental or physical defect (marasmus), but more often - the combined influence of both.
1.2 Social and psychological problems
Change in social status
A change in the social status of a person in old age, caused primarily by the termination or limitation of labor activity, the transformation of value orientations, the very way of life and communication, as well as the emergence of various difficulties in both social and psychological adaptation to new conditions, dictates the need development and implementation of specific approaches, forms and methods of social work with older people. The importance of everyday attention to solving the social problems of this category of citizens is also increasing due to the increase in the proportion of older people in the structure of the Russian population, which has been observed in the last decade not only in our country, but throughout the world.
Elderly people are on the sidelines of life. We are talking not only and not so much about material difficulties (although they also play a significant role), but about difficulties of a psychological nature. Retirement, loss of relatives and friends, illness, narrowing of the circle of contacts and areas of activity - all this leads to the impoverishment of life, the withdrawal of positive emotions from it, a feeling of loneliness and uselessness. The situation, however, is such that with an increase in life expectancy and a decrease in the birth rate, a significant part of the population is made up of elderly people and, therefore, there is a need for a special organization of assistance to an elderly person.
As a rule, the life of an elderly person is not rich in various events. However, these events fill all his individual space and time. So, the arrival of a doctor is an event that can fill the whole day. Going to the store is also an event, which is preceded by careful preparation. In other words, there is hypertrophy, "stretching" of events. An event that is perceived by the young as an insignificant episode, for an old person becomes a matter of a whole day. In addition to the "extension" of events, the fullness of life can be realized through the hypertrophy of one of the spheres of life.
The second feature is determined by a peculiar sense of time. First, an elderly person always lives in the present. His past is also present in the present - hence the thriftiness, frugality,
The role of psychodiagnostics in the study of older people is to assess age-related changes and age differences. A social worker can identify initial disturbances in mental processes by asking an elderly person if he is worried about forgetfulness and absent-mindedness. For a more accurate detection of impaired memory, attention and thinking (i.e. cognitive processes) or in cases that are difficult to diagnose, an elderly person may be referred for a consultation with a psychologist (for diagnostic testing) or a psychotherapist (for diagnosis).
Let us consider some of the problems and difficulties that social workers may encounter when diagnosing older people.
A very difficult task is the diagnosis of older people, when age-related changes in the state of health and the psyche are approaching pathological. Chronic diseases are inherent in the elderly and senile age (sometimes there are up to eighty of them in one person), which reduces overall mental activity and negatively affects intellectual and mnestic functions. Therefore, it is imperative to find out if the elderly person participating in the diagnosis took any medications, and, if so, how it affected him.
It is known that certain diseases, such as those of the respiratory system, which become more frequent with age, can affect the performance of tests, as well as drugs that are often taken by older people.
Older people need to understand what the survey is about. Therefore, illiteracy and low education, which are common among the elderly, remain an important problem. Low education makes it difficult for older people to understand the questions of tests and questionnaires, which leads to systematic errors in assessing cognitive deficiency in poorly educated people and false negative results in highly educated people.
Often the questioning situation is perceived by older people as a formal exam or as a visit to the doctor. For young people who have experience in school or college, this does not cause internal stress. As for the elderly, it is important to create a situation that is close to their real life. It is necessary that external stimuli, such as noise, interference of any kind, etc., do not distract their attention.
It is desirable to receive the necessary information, hold meetings with the elderly for the purpose of diagnosis in their own homes, apartments, places where they live permanently. This will allow older people to harmoniously fit into the situation of the survey, which they will perceive as a conversation about their lives, without experiencing internal stress.
It is important to leave the choice of the topic of conversation for the elderly person, thereby showing respect for him. In addition, it is known that independent choice raises the level of self-esteem and overall satisfaction with life.
It is important that older people are confident that they will be listened to seriously and that what they say will be used constructively. The social worker should be able to talk to people and jot down key points.
Often there are difficulties associated with the peculiarities of the behavioral strategies of older people in the situation of diagnosis. For example, they can be reserved and secretive. Sometimes older people simply prefer not to give those answers that they are not sure of, that is, they act on the principle: "it is better not to answer at all than to make mistakes."
The reluctance to respond and the degree of caution shown by the elderly, on the one hand, is a fact of a useful and adaptive self-defense strategy. Often older people are indecisive about how qualified they are to rate or comment on proposed questionnaire questions, such as the adequacy or quality of services in a nursing home or social center. On the other hand, dependence on caregivers or family members causes fear of "retaliation" for their possible expressions of dissatisfaction and complaints reflected in the answers. Many authors note the apprehension of older people when answering to say too much, despite the guarantee of anonymity of their answers. Therefore, there is a tendency for older people to demonstrate satisfaction with literally everyone during surveys. In some cases, when answering questions that affect the emotional side of the life of older people, affective, uncontrolled reactions are possible on their part.
To overcome these difficulties, it is necessary to take into account some features. For example, the social worker should be aware that information must be collected in a way that allows every older person to participate in the survey, regardless of gender, ethnicity, physical ability or language level.
If diagnostics are carried out in nursing homes, some researchers advise collecting information from residents (residents) to those who are not employees. In this case, the residents will feel free and speak frankly. They find it easier to talk to those who are not in charge of their day-to-day care or are not responsible for them.
Another reason for reticence or reticence is the difficulty level of a test or questionnaire. Therefore, you need to start with easier tasks or questions and only then complicate them. If an elderly person fails and does not complete the tasks, it will be difficult for him to finish all the work. Initial failure can be stressful for the older person, and cooperation with the social worker can be disrupted. Often the reluctance to participate in the survey is masked by references to poor health (headache, high blood pressure, etc.).
The scientific literature notes the difficulties of diagnosing older men, whose behavior in interview situations differs from the behavior of women. Men are harder to interview than women. They prefer not to discuss personal matters, especially in a situation of severe loss. Men are more secretive, hardly make contact. One explanation for this could be that women are friendlier than men. In later life, women who continue to maintain relationships with the social environment, including family members, and who also have work experience, cope better with the survey or interview situation than retired men.
Older people often have a sensory deficit, which brings with it two problems. The first is that the diagnostic situation requires good vision and hearing, so older people should be encouraged to use glasses and hearing aids if necessary. Sometimes questionnaires and tests intended for older people should use a larger font than usual.
The second problem is that only very few tests are designed specifically for older people with visual and hearing impairments. In these cases, ingenious specialists themselves compose test tasks by analogy with "tactile" tests designed for children. There are a variety of options. For example, you can put different items in one bag. An elderly person puts his hand into it and by touch tries to determine what kind of object it is (reel, box of matches, button, etc.) and what it consists of (wood, rubber, wool, etc.). In another variant, samples of different materials are glued onto the cardboard, and so on.
Older people need more time to adjust to the interview or testing situation. Such adaptation is necessary in order for the person being interviewed to feel calm and at ease. The survey situation requires an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation, so older people need to be helped by approving and encouraging them during testing.
Before starting any diagnostic work with older people, the purpose of the survey should be explained and why it is necessary to answer questions frankly.
It is important to consider the timing of the survey. Many researchers believe that several short surveys are better for older people than one long test. You need to end any meeting with an elderly person on the note of his successful help and future cooperation.
In addition, you should always keep in mind the questions ethics when working with older people. For example, there are limitations in the study of decision-making processes in important circumstances of life: the choice of life or death; social stressful situations, numerous at a later age, - the loss of loved ones, experiences of various kinds; family conflicts and cruel attitudes, etc. It must be remembered that these people have the right to be protected from being involved in activities they do not understand.
Ethical issues also include feedback, i.e. an elderly person must not only know why he is being interviewed, but also what results he has.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the principles of diagnosis do not change depending on the age of an elderly person. These include, for example, the choice of a manner of speaking that is comfortable for the specialist and the elderly person, which allows the exchange of clear and understandable information; the use of open questions to outline the area of discussion, and closed questions to establish details; studying the picture in dynamics, etc.
It is important to take into account confidentiality and the integrity of the data generated by the survey (what records will be kept; who will maintain them; who will have access to them, etc.). In some cases, a form of agreement can be drawn up between the specialist and the older person. For example, the agreement may state that any part of the material will be used only with the consent of the latter. It also necessarily indicates for what purposes the results can be used: for publications, research work, for educational purposes (for example, at school or universities), in the media, and so on. In addition, the agreement states whether the older person's name may be mentioned, what restrictions he imposes on his material, and these restrictions must be set out in great detail. The agreement is signed by a specialist, an elderly person, a member of his family or an assistant.
App. 7, some diagnostic materials are given, with the help of which social workers can carry out express diagnostics of the mental state of older people, their physical condition, as well as determine the level of loneliness, depression, and subjective life satisfaction. Separately, materials are given for the diagnosis of alcohol abuse at a later age.
In order for an elderly person to feel like a full-fledged member of society, it is necessary for him to participate in public life, maintain individual, family and other ties. It is believed that two areas are most important for a person: communication and daily activities. Unfortunately, many older people, for various reasons, are deprived of this. As a result, there is psychological discomfort, and a feeling of disorientation in the conditions of modern life. Therefore, to solve the psychological problems and age-related difficulties of the elderly, psychological services are organized in social service centers. The work of a psychologist today is mainly carried out with this category of citizens.
Awareness of a new life status on the eve of old age, understanding the meaning of one's new life, state, largely determines the structure of the emotional experiences of older people. This implies the tasks that a psychologist working with elderly and elderly people in a social service center should solve:
increase in the general background of mood;
increased self-esteem;
the formation of a positive image of old age as a time for inner peace, development, awareness of the importance of the life lived;
discussion of all the good things that are available in the current life situation.
The help of a psychologist involves both individual and group work.
The psychologist, in the course of individual counseling for older people who seek help from the center, reveals to them the concept of life satisfaction in old age, the conditions for achieving it, as well as the conventionality of the concept of “happy old age”; he explains to the elderly man that there is another concept - "successful aging". It involves a constant effort to cope with the loss or lack of manifestations of many aspects of life inherent in the aging process. The psychologist encourages constant and reasonable activity, adequate physical and mental exercises, which provide an elderly person with the necessary skills to deal with illnesses, contribute to solving the main tasks of age-related development and are accompanied by an experience of satisfaction with life at this age.
There are cases when an elderly person needs psychological help, but he does not dare to come to a psychologist due to some internal reasons, barriers. He feels much more confident at home. In this case, the effectiveness of psychological counseling at home will be much higher.
The procedure of age-related psychological counseling is built taking into account the characteristics of the client's personality and his strategy for adapting to age-related changes. In order to take into account all the features, a testing procedure is necessary. Another problem may arise here. During the practice of working with the elderly, it turned out that people over 65-68 years of age have certain difficulties. This includes increased psychological fatigue, slowness of perception, reaction and thinking, and weak motivation for activity. All this affects the test data. Changes are also noticeable in the emotional sphere: focus on one's own interests, suspicion, as a result of which the results are not always reliable. Therefore, this method of diagnosing personality is extremely rare. From experience, it became clear that it is much more effective to use a psychodiagnostic conversation with older people. The main thing is to direct it very delicately in the right direction, and we can learn a lot about a person.
A feature of working with the elderly is the principle of activation and reactivation of the client's resources, as unclaimed functions fade away. In this case, the psychologist of the center emotionally influences his clients, saying that every person, despite seeming weakness, has a huge potential, and he is able to solve his problems even, even in hopeless situations. In this case, certain techniques of psychotherapy also help.
The main type of psychotherapy for older people is communication with them. This method of work is universal and is used in almost all cases of contact with customers. Any elderly person needs an interlocutor, he is waiting for sympathy, kind words, encouragement, attention and a desire to listen to him. Therefore, you must always find time for communication, inspire hope and faith, the desire for life.
Psychotherapy can be rational, using the method of persuasion. In this case, the work of the psychologist of the center is reduced to conversations with sick and elderly people, during which the cause of the disease and the nature of the existing disorders are explained. The psychologist urges the elderly person to change their attitude to exciting events in the environment, to stop fixing their attention on the existing psychological symptoms. The advantage of this method lies in the fact that the elderly person actively participates in a process that strengthens his intellect, opens up the opportunity to change his views and attitudes. As practice has shown, this method is quite effective in working with elderly people who have recently retired, that is, between the ages of 55 and 65 years.
Another, no less effective technique in the practice of a psychodiagnostic can be working with memories. For people who have entered the aging period, this method is the most effective way to individually motivate vital activity and form a tolerant attitude towards aging and the inevitability of death. This method is also universal and suitable for working with completely different older people. It can be quite active clients, as well as bedridden patients. This technique has an undoubted communicative, diagnostic and corrective value and is aimed at enabling a person to realize how his past has determined his present and continues to influence him.
In working with memories, as work with older people shows, it is very important to return, and repeatedly, to positive memories of events in which strong integrity of personality, self-esteem and psychological health appeared.
One of the biggest problems of older people is the loss of meaning in life. The result is depression, aggressive attitude and other behavioral deviations. In this case, logotherapy is used. This technique does not suggest or “prescribe” meanings. It is important to make it clear to the client that it is not a person who raises a question about the meaning of life - life itself raises a question for him, and a person has to constantly answer it, not with words, but with actions.
The training work with the elderly has a very positive effect.
It's no secret that many people still have a very vague idea of what exactly a psychologist does. People do not always know what a psychological problem is and in what cases the help of a professional is simply necessary. But even when a person has a certain idea of the need for psychological assistance, there are many subjective factors that block the need to turn to a psychologist. In order for psychological service to be in demand, it is necessary that people, including the elderly, know not only about its existence, but also about the very essence of the services that it provides. Without dissemination of this knowledge, its effectiveness will decline.
Thus, the task of a psychologist in working with older people is not to perceive them in isolation, outside their life path, but on the contrary, to understand that their current state is a reflection of a multifaceted, multilayered and phased, ongoing process of personality formation. The most important thing is that every elderly person is a person and, as a person, has a value in itself. It is important to convey this to an elderly person so that he understands that the intrinsic value of a person must be fully preserved and he has a chance to regain the lost harmony, and at a higher level.
